


In Progress...

by Meled97



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Drabble Collection, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I promise, M/M, english is a second language for me, forgive me ;;, i'll get better, what is tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-08-09 18:31:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16455137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meled97/pseuds/Meled97
Summary: If you take anything from Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi is thatsleep is importantand I guess that...change takes time. Little efforts, adjustments, pointers - accumulate to a function, and than a routine, building up to a skill.If it's a relationship or your career - "you can't expect yourself to be good right off the bat" -butyou most certainly can andshouldbe engaged.yeah, the process will probably be messy, unattractive, and awkward. You can always laugh at it, though.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind:  
> \- I love SIH and Nostalgia pair - I'm mostly a fan, not a creator.  
> \- English is my second language, so writing can get cringy at times, I apologise in advance!!;;  
> \- long story short - I had no internet access for a long period of time BUT I did have some screenshots of prompts from Tumblr.  
> so....it was fun, I felt like I should put an effort in the fandom owo; idk

######  i failed the prompt, I know, it took a completely different course while I was editing ;^; 

 

"Years of experience...geez, really?!experience my ass...how did you manage to get a cut like THAT?!"  
"Sharp things will be sharp"  
"And you call ME 'clumsy', " Ritsu eyed Takano with a grunt.  
Takano shrugged and shuffled closer to point at his own injured wrist "you're doing it wrong," he marked.  
"Ah?" Onodera jolted back a bit.  
"You need to straighten it...Onodera, you listening?"  
"I-if I mess with it too much, the wound might open up again!" he sputtered.

The rookie editor and his superior were sitting on the sofa, in the break room.  
It was late, a little bit past 11 pm, and the office building was vacant - to the exception of security and the two insomniac…colleagues? Yea, why not.

In the process of issuing last "vital and urgent manual adjustments" (as was told to the very frustrated delivery man) - caffeine, stress and mindlessness took their toll - and Takano found himself with a very clean cut on his left wrist.  
Luckily, the manuscript itself is still white, clean, and, most importantly - on it's way to the printers.

As the figurative dust started to settle down (and the literal one is being cleaned) - Hell Week came to an end.  
The experienced employ already had his fair share of stinging memories with the utility knife, so he was genuinely calm. Though he couldn't help but take notice at the slight bitterness in his subordinate expression.

'Is he....trembling?' Takano huffed and smiled softly.  
Truthfully, Ritsu seemed quite immersed in the task - frowning slightly in concertation, head tilted a bit, his tongue sticking out slightly from the side of his mouth. His fingers were a little jittery, one could feel it, and his expression, between the lines of intense and soft.  
Takano found himself somewhat…grateful, with a strong urge to…communicate it.  
He decided to give it a shot.

"Do me a favor," he began, trying to catch the attention of the younger male.  
"Hmm?" green eyes fell prey for the uncharacteristic comfort in the older male's voice.  
"if this is it…"  
"Eh?"

Somewhere between forward and present, as if Takano was trying to hypnotize him. Or provoke him. Which is the usual ordeal - so Ritsu should be used to it by now, right? He should call him out, blow him off, be unattentive - so what the hell was this tingling bittersweet nuisance?!

He unconsciously tightened his grip around Takano's palm, anticipating the end of the sentence.  
Masamune took a short, deep breath. "Just remember…to send those faxes to the printers," the older male looked up to the ceiling and closed his eyes, as if waiting to be lifted.  
"AH???" Ritsu shut up in his place, treated injury still in his grip.  
Takano hissed from the sudden movement, and Ritsu let go at once.  
"I don't want to be haunted as a ghost" , he squeezed the pained wrist as he explained, looking determined to prove the gravity of the matter.  
"THAT DOESN'T EVEN WORK THAT WAY!!" Onodera huffed, looking quite pissed off.

Seconds of sheer silence passed, a silence that never seemed avoidable between the two. The raven haired male glanced aside, an uncomeatable knot forming in his stomach. His loved one stressed, exhausted and strained from work; without even the option to make him…laugh, smile…positive of some sort - he felt guilty. Lost. Pathetic.

"I'm fine.." he tried to reassure, gesturing the younger to sit back on the couch next to him with his fully-in-tact hand.  
"C-clearly...you're...not.." taken aback a bit as he recognized the sincerity in his intention. He finally sat down, not realizing it , a bit closer this time, as he reached and took the injured hand back for last examination.

Takano scanned the younger male's face. Worried? annoyed? afraid? Bored?  
He couldn't cipher it…it made him uneasy. A sort of negative that only existed in his mind, that was his interpretation of reality. His pessimistic outlook, contrasted with bold actions - a man can't contradict himself for so long. If you choose to give life to a thought, which ones?  
At that moment, he decided to let -that- go.

"If you'll be the one treating me...I can live for a 100 years more," said simply the Editor-in-Chief.  
Ritsu's breath hitched.

It's simple, yet crucial. If your intent is coming from a place of love - it will reach where it's needed.  
It will always come back to this. All he could do was observe and be.

"Takano-san... saying things that sound... too much like a proposal" Ritsu lowered his eyes in attempt to hide his tinted cheeks.  
"It's the truth" Masamune concluded. Trying not to caught up in his hopes, as the risk is high but the reward was **blissful**. In his mind it gets categorized as "a dream" or "a wish" but his heart is much more practical - calling it "a plan".

Ritsu felt as if he was suffocating, the air got caught up in his throat. But...in a nice way.  
Somehow he felt secure. Secure in what? He wasn't sure, but he had a hunch it got something to do with the distinct throbbing heartbeat he felt through his fingertips.  
He relaxed his grip around Takano's left wrist.  
Contemplating pain, hardship, sickness, death; Taking in account growth, patience, support and acceptance.

It carried a meaning. A meaning Onodera wasn't sure he was **allowed** to comprehend.  
In the eyes of the world - he was jaded, stubborn…"coat-tailing"…unskilled.  
Any…inclination he had, regarding the other present male figure in the room - was needed to be put in place.  
Whatever it means…

His head was steering as, conveniently enough, "fight or flight" mechanism took the lea - syncing and correlating as always with the brunette honest nature - not that he was aware of it.

"...well, you smoke..." in his defend, it sounded snarky his head.  
"Um" Masamune leaned in a bit, trying to catch up with Ritsu's train of thoughts.  
"I...will need to stop that... too...?" He said, innocently enough to assume he was simply thinking out loud.  
Silence, of another kind, settled between them.  
Against all his better judgment, emerald eyes looked up, searching for a familiar gaze; Finding relief and sort of amusement reflected in amber eyes.  
What started in his mind as a challenge or a joke, he realized, ended up…as affection. And a promise.

"I'll be in your care" (yorosh-ku)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ritsu and Masamune's version of flirting and lovey dovey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't do a spell check, sorry in advance, I'll fix it!

"I gotta say, for a person who reads a lot of books, your vocabulary capacity sure is small"  
"NO IS FUCKING NO, TAKANO-SAN"  
Ritsu shot back angirly, caged between Takano's arms against the wall, glaring at him in discontent.

"You didn't say 'no' up until just now" Takano reasoned, to that Ritsu huffed in response ."Well, I'm saying it NOW!"

The raven haired man wasn't fazed; on the contrary, even though his tone was sincere, the rookie could tell he was enjoying himself by the glint of smugness in his eyes.

'For god sake, the door is wide open and it's lunch time! Anyone can walk in at any minute!' Ritsu glanced at said door, fidgeting nervously. 

He was never a big fan of public display of affection. Add to that issue the regulated work ethic he imposes on himself, and his idea of the current social preception of gay relationship - and you can toss calm and proffesional out of the window. Ritsu is, without a doubt, freaking out.

He's jumping between being stressed out, pissed off and dying out of embressment (excitmemt? No, no, no he refuses to go down this dark road). He's starting to feel like his breath is uneven. How do you normaly time your breathing? Is this hypervantilation? Isn't it bad? You can lose blood over it, righ?Or blood pressure... Wait, if he counts his breaths, and then devide it by----  
"I want to go back to the previous issue" Takano's voice pulled him back to earth from his anxious thoughts.  
"Which one?!" He shot back as he pushed lightly against the older male's arm, attempting to budge him, with no luck.  
"About how I'm, by your standards, too close to you" Takano said, with a sly smile on his face.  
Ritsu shivered. This smile is unfair. This whole ordeal is unfair. Completly out of his comfort zone, risky.  
He can't help himself but to start overthinking. Did the layed-back-and-oh-so-composed (for-christ-sake-damn-him) editor genuinly make peace with the idea of losing his job, or did he manage to scheme some sort of hox that denies other workers access to the break area, and failed to inform Ritsu about it?  
The latter option...was bit conspirative and far-fetched. Understandable, because right now Ritsu is purposly invested in his own annoyance with the older males's none-cholannte attitude and careless action, not the rationality of his mind.

"Wha-what about it?" Ritsu decided to fixate his eyes just above takano's head. He doesn't won't to appear anymore jumpy than what he already gave away.  
"Should I step away?" Takano suggests, though his body language reveals no such intention. He leans a bit forward, trying to force Ritsu's gaze to meet his own.  
"O-of course!We are at...work" the last detail of the sentence came out of Ritsu's mouth a bit hoarse, as he tried to keep control of his voice.

Takano's mouth curled at the edge, his eyes unapologitacliy warm. Ritsu wished he could stay oblivious to the reason. His choice of words wasn't accidental, as his choice of never-give-a-verbal-confirmation to this fact. "Hope" is a weird motive, and it feels out of place, for some reason.

He thinks that it's not a question of "when" but more of an issue of "How", and to sort it out, it needs to take place in the "Now".

That last bit of realization is still blurry and out of his mind's grasp. Well, for ritsu, right now, everything is fuzzy; fast and slow at the same time. He can feel Takano's breath resting on his collar, and he fights the urge to scratch it, refusing to acknowledge its connection to the thudding in his ears.

"Plus, 'No'..." Takano continues to ponder out loud. He then plants a quick peck on the top of Onodera's nose.  
" 'no' to...what?" He asks innocently,contridictivly taking his sweet time to retreat back.

Ritsu short circuited. His stubborn self was still determind to find a decent come back, but failed to make sense of the situation.

"Yo-your'e... irritating" Ritsu muttered, looking down at his feet to hide his tinted cheeks.  
"It's kindergarten level, you can do better" Takano said in a teasing manner, and was gratified with a reaction as Ritsu jerked up half hasitently.  
Emerald eyes focused on ember flames, steping up to the challenge they present him.  
"I-infuriating" said with a bit more confident.  
"Um…really?" Takano asked in faked bemusment. The young editor mentally kicked himself for finding it endearing.  
"Relentless" the brunnete shot back, but it was clear that there was no bite to it.  
"Ritsu…" Takano tilted his head in position to kiss him, but refrained from doing so.

Ritsu swalloed noticebly.' Too. Close.'  
"Stubborn…" he aptted his mind and efforts to win this retorical debate.  
"Look who's talking…" Ritsu got caugh off guard by the slight ring of laughter in his words, and found himself sinking into the comfort that radiated from Takano's presence.  
He released a deep muted sigh, realizing he forgot to breath.  
Oddly calm. Strangly safe. By the time he realized the uncommon serenety of the athmosphere, it was too late to pull back.  
As if hypnotized, the younger leaned closer and his head tilted just a bit; falling into the invetible touch of soft lips pressing against his own.

'Ah…Irresistible…'


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit - this idea was taken from Brooklyn 99 - that I've been binge watching for the last two months

"Takano-san? Richan?" Kisa called as he stepped into the cubicle.

Layed out and pinned down, he found his fellow coworker on the large office desk at the other end of the room. Above him, observably irratated but generaly calm, was their boss; holding the younger's wrists above his head as he leaned to face him, eyes parallel.

This...wasn't ideal.

Ritsu froze in his place (truth be told, he didn't have much lee-way in his stance to begin with). Face bright red, heart's beating fast and his mind racing.

 "W…we…we, you know, we are just…" he fumbled over the words. The symptoms of the last 10 minutes stayed the same...it's the cause that got shifted.

"Working" Masamune added simply, pitching in to help move the conversation.  His underwhelming approach to the matter was sure to get on Ritsu's nerves, had he not been busy beating himself up for the life choices that got him in this position.

He decided to take a peak at Kisa. He looked...considerate, for a brief moment, and then shrugged, taking Takano's explanation plausible.

"Yes! Both of us working! Independently! Separately!" he confirmed eagerly. 

Kisa  lowered  the  bag  he  was  carrying from his shoulder to the desk chair.

" Reenaction of storyboards?" He asked playfully, like he was participating in some sort of a trivia game.

"It gives you a better field of vision for key scenes" Takano nodded in approval, his tone praising Kisa's professional mindset.

Onodera fought the urge to roll his eyes and forced a moment of gratitude in honor of  The Maiden Club's passion and expertise in the business.

"Yes, that thing..." Ritsu agreed reluctantly.

Kisa smiled - proud and content with his sense of judgment, Onodera assumed.

"Well...nice vision" Kisa complimented as he opened up his laptop and grabbed some papers from his carry on.

"Thank you" Takano replied, amused, as he shot glance to his now quite-confused-less-terrified subordinate, expecting him to follow through with their hypothetical script.

Unfortunately, finding the latter streakily focused on the presence of his colleague, who signalled he was going to fetch a drink as he darted out of their cubicle.

The young brunet released a sigh of relief, and took a deep breath to calm his heart. True, he wasn't fully convinced that Kisa believed the whole "setting the scene" excuse, butit's currently 9 AM and the rookie editor would like to save his valuable shreds of sanity for professional use, _thank you very much_. Ritsu is more than willing to own this false sense of security and just pray to the gods that this little predicament will be forgotten by noon.

Finally, he gathered enough patience to address  the raven haired man still leaning above him.

"Takano san, you can get off of me now" he glared, trying his best to sound more annoyed than panicky.

"Stay in character, Onodera" Masamune ordered with a hint of chuckle in voice.

The light tone sent shivers down Ritsu's spine, and causing his face to heat up. He grunted in defeat, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"I'll. KILL.YOU."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Ritsu likes seeing Takano's little drops of happiness.   
> And isn't it just lovely? 
> 
> anyway, not my best one, I didn't like it, I just still can't believe Takano kissed Ritsu on the first day and it was like "yea, legit, it's a work thing"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, it's a pick up line prompt.  
> and it's really awkward, so brace yourself.

_'Nanako sensei must have gotten confused in her research,'_ Ritsu sighed as he flipped through the pages of a thin bright cover handbook, _'These...these are not flirting techniques. It's...these are just awkward and embarrassing one liners!'_ He lifted his head slightly to roll his eyes.

 _'I mean, come on!'_ he scanned the short paragraphs with his eyes and shook his head , _'In the name of Athena,look at this thing. It's not even realistic!'_

The annoyed editor closed the book with a huff,  "It can never happen, it's a joke!" he concluded quietly to himself.

In his line of work it's not uncommon to use none-fiction sources, such as magazines, guides and ridiculously absurdhandbooks, to get in touch with the reader's feelings and expectations.

Onodera discovered himself preforming better, in unexpected confidence, applying the knowledge he kept gathering - it was worth the efforts.

For the most part.

As Ritsu grabbed his bag from the floor to put the guide away, to the sound of a weary (weirdly familiar) yawn he turned to his left.

"Ah, Takano-san, good work today,"Ritsu greeted with cautious. The older editor in chief, sat down next to him on the stone bench, looking exhausted and strained. 

Takano hummed, "Good work," he nodded without facing his subordinate, just took out his phone to check the subway schedual. 

Odd as it may be, and honestly Takano can't recall ever being insecure in his physical appearance under the effect of sleep deprivation - but he doesn't fight the irrationality of his mind.

It may come across as rude, but he knows Ritsu isn't one to take such behavior personally.

His lips curl at the thought of Ritsu asking him to look at his eyes. Soft and fierce all together, determination that doesn'twaver. He presses the back of his hand to his face, wiping off the smile.

 

"Ah, the train is delayed," Ritsu explained, and examined his watch, "They mentioned it was due to roadwork, but it's been a while, it should be here soon"

"I hope so," Takano replied and stifled another yawn with his palm, "geez, I feel tired. I should be used to it by now, I don't know anymore" he sighed and leaned back at the wall behind them.

'Ah? That's...that's actually from the book,' Ritsu's mind switched gears and resurfaced the details of the last section he just finished reading.

"R..really?" He muttered and cleaned his throat.

 _'I can try...if it's Takano-san.., '_ he fidgeted with his hands as he shot a nervous glance at his superior.

 "There...I mean, you know, maybe there is a reason for that" Onodera stuttered, consciously clenching his hands to not raise the suspicion of the raven haired man next to him.

It seemed like a reasonable experiment. All correction will have to go to the editor in chief eventually. Live demonstration will save them the pondering and arguing, give them the option to move on and be done with it.

"Hmm? What reason?"  Takano asked as he rubbed the bridge of his nose to ease the strain he felt in his eyes.

Ritsu took a breath, his motive still strong, but the personal context of the act made his heart ache.

 "Well, you've been running through my mind all day," Ritsu replied, in calm and quite manner, enough to surprise even himself.

"Ah?" Masamune straightened up at once from his arched position, his eyes wide, looking at Ritsu sitting oh-so-casually next to him.

A twinge of  panic sparked through the younger man's body. Was it rude? Stupid? Well, that was the case in point, but Takano's shock was of a different kind.

"I mean, you know, just saying..." Ritsu exhaled a shaky laugh. He knew an explanation is needed, and he had faith in the professional capability of his boss in this area . This kind of behavior is acceptable. Right? Like his first day on the job! Oh, wait.

"Did you just...?" Takano proceeded, seeming to struggle wrapping his head around the situation.

Onodera gulped. He' an experienced editor, but maybe this was a step too far? What was he expecting to get in the first place? This ordeal is starting to look like a bad idea.

"Did you just...hit on me?"

**_'Oh god, definitely a bad idea! He thinks I'm making fun of him!'_ **

"I! I have this book! And it's for the a chapter research! I apologize, I didn't mean to offend you!" Ritsu rushed to explain, bowing slightly while avoiding eye contact. He felt so embarrassed, he didn't knew where t burry himself, god, what was he thinking?

"Remember….that," Takano voiced, suddenly his tone felt softer and…hesitant?

The younger looked up. _'His ears…is he…?'_ with this realization Ritsu felt his face heating up as well, but spared the useless attempts to hide it.

"Take responsibility, geez,"  Takano shot accusingly, but Ritsu found it almost funny.

How long have they been going like this? It was like an endless game of hide and seek, each with his own scars.

Takano reached out his hand and laid it right next to Onodera's own, making him freeze up and hyper aware.

"Shouldn't the train be here by now?" Ritsu scoffed, not coming off as casual in the slightest, desperately trying to divert the conversation.

"Who knows," Masamune brushed it off. He shifted closer to the other, his hand came up, hovering for a slight second above Ritsu's palm, before settling to hold it, ever so gently. Ritsu's inhaled sharply.

"It's in progress, " he added simply.

Now Ritsu was the one fighting off a grin, "What's that supposed to mean?" he snorted.

Well, truth be told, he hated that stupid pick up line, but something was keeping him from arguing it out loud.   
It was easy, too easy, to ignore the will to fend him off, even though they both looked silly, trying to cover their joint hands behind their backs.

 _'I guess you can call it progress…'_ he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon - Onodera is a nerd, and takes Greek mythology very seriously.


End file.
